Fortnum & Mason

One of the few blends that F&M kept after they re-hauled their tea line. This is a non-offenssive, everybody-will-be-OK-with-it teas that they have, but it’s also one of their least spectacular ones. It’s a good tea, but not an amazing or very interesting one. I really wish that they hadn’t axed their Piccadilly Blend, which was much better, IMHO.

Drinking a cup of this with milk and a touch of sugar. Solid breakfast tea that brews a rich coppery red colour.

Had a cup of this, with milk, this morning. Not as strong as I thought, but still a good breakfast tea. Reserving judgement for later – I’ve decided to take my time with marks from now on, giving each tea at least two separate tastings before rating it. But for now this tea is in the 70-80 range – a good, solid breakfast tea, but not something to go out of your way to find.

a friend gifted me with this tea. i am a fan of Darjeeling, but it is somewhat delicate. this is a lovely version, very aromatic. i may have steeped a wee bit too long at five minutes.

given to me by a friend. i’m overjoyed at how lovely this is. strong enough, yet still tasty. love the malty flavour. it has substance.

a friend gave me this marvelous tea. it’s rare that i can find a tea that is strong enough, but this one gets there.

1.5 tablespoons for 375 ml

A little too astringent. I think that I must have used too much leaf. I should use only 1 tbp for 375 ml in the future. Good strawberry flavour.

Thanks to Sil for sharing!

My, how we change! This tea was sent to me by SimplyJenW three years ago. That’s right. THREE YEARS. I saw it when I was diggin through my samples box and decided that since youngest already had a whole pot of tea for herself, this would be a good time to use my Kamjove pitcher from Teavivre and resteep the heck out of this, thereby acquiring a generous portion for breakfast and finishing a sample to boot.

We no longer add milk or sugar to our tea, and with food this was quite good. I had a good bit left over and also got to experience it on its own. It tastes like a hearty breakfast Keemun, not as raw and rough as a good old wake-you-up Hao Ya B but not as prissy and refined as a top of the line afternoon sipper to go with cookies. And this was with three steeps using 7 ounces of water and 1 1/2 teaspoons of leaf. I think 21 ounces of tea out of the end of a sample is a pretty good deal, especially since this is getting on in age. I have never purchased this brand, but I would do so without hesitation if I was somewhere that carried it.

Thank you, Jen, for “joining” me at breakfast today!

This was a sample from SimplyJenW – thank you, Jen!

I had Harney and Sons English breakfast yesterday, and it is a 100% Keemun tea. I love it! It is so fortifying. I do take it with milk and sugar. I was curious to see how this one would compare.

The dry leaves smell almost identical to Harney’s. The steeped tea…also very comparable. The sip- I agree with Jen. This has a bit of a bite, a little more astringency than I like, but if you love breakfast blend teas that include Indian tea I think you would like this. We added milk and sugar. Youngest thought it didn’t differ significantly from the Harney tea, but she didn’t try it without milk and sugar. The milk smooths the bite!

Thank you, Jen! We enjoyed having something new to try today!

Fortnum & Mason Advent Day 10 (sachet)

I am not making a note for the tins advent because I already have, this year and last.

This is one of the sachets I was most looking forward to because it is not duplicated in the tins advent. I was looking forward to trying it for the first time only to come on here and discover that I tried it eleven years ago!

I usually dislike any Earl Grey on a Ceylon base, but this is is the exception. I think the bergamot in this one is stronger than their Classic Earl, Earl Green, and Victoria Grey (VG was mostly lavender to me.) It is the orange flavor that makes a big difference in this one.

Talk about citrusy! This one really is, and I liked it very much. It isn’t shy. I changed things up a little. Since I was really looking forward to it, I didn’t combine two steeps as usual. I made one steep in my Kamjove, poured a small cup of tea, and resteeped. So the resulting second cup of tea was heavier ln resteep and less an equal blend.

Surprisingly, as much as I liked that first steep, I liked the milder second steep even more. It had such body, almost an oily texture, I have no idea how or why. The bergamot was turned down, the base and the orange were a little turned up. While I don’t feel a need to have any Earl Grey on my shelf usually – Paris and The White Duke fill the bergamot bill for me – I wouldn’t mind having a tin of this.

This was another great tea today at tea party, again thanks to SimplyJenW!

Just as Earl Grey Supreme by Harney and Sons is the pinnacle of Earl Grey teas for me, so this has become the benchmark for Lady Grey type teas.

Lady Grey by Twinings is the only other one I have had, and I do enjoy it. It really FEELS like a foofy, holdyourpinkyintheair kind of tea. This is the same, but polished and with a rich daddy.

My guest today has not cared for ANY Earl Grey I have served – it just isn’t her thing, and it isn’t just the bergamot because she LOVES Paris. Yet this tea gained her approval today. Her main remark was how citrusy it was, and indeed it is. They do not mention lemon, but I did think I picked up some lemon notes. That may have just been the Ceylon base though, as they really just mention orange and bergamot in the flavors.

I will be in Raleigh again soon, and I will be hitting Williams-Sonoma and putting this in my basket!

Thank you, Jen, for another lovely addition to Wednesday tea party!

Enjoying my Second Favorite Breakfast in the Whole Wide World: this Earl and a multigrain bagel with cream cheese. The hearty bread and creamy cheese play so nicely off the citrus-y good tea. Also, as I’ve said a zillion times before – this tea has magic properties and puts me in a fantastic mood. :) :) :)

Each time I come here to write a tasting note, something pulls me away. Home is busy, work is busy, school is busy! This is my third attempt to write a tasting note today :)

Thankfully there are teas like this one to get me through crazy busy times. I don’t know what they put in this tea, but it makes me so cheerful! It’s perfectly bergamot-y and perfectly good-tea-ish. I love that it’s bold enough to drink in the morning, but fine enough to not need a grain of sugar. I have relied on it several times in the past week.

Love!

Hello Steepsterites! I have missed you all so much! The page would not load for me, but I read on twitter that the Steepster Overlords were doing updates, so I tried this morning and YAY! It works!

We’ve had a stretch of rain and humidity in these parts, which means I’ve been drinking lots of this Earl :) It’s so refreshing in the mugginess, and cheering in the rain. As I’ve said before, I’m not sure what kind of English Magic they put in this tea, but it gives me so much vim and vigor without ever tasting too strong or bitter. I totally agree on the name of Classic in this tea. It’s not rainbows and moonbeams, new or extravagant – it’s an absolutely perfect, dependable in all situations, and never out of place Earl!

I’m so so so glad Steepster is working for me again! Kisses to everyone!

I was so crazy for Fortnum’s Countess Grey that SimplyJenW sent, that I hightailed it over to Williams-Sonoma after work. I knew they carried a selection of their teas, and I had my eye on their Earl Grey Classic. Ran over and bought it (hey, I needed parchment paper, too!)

Oh, I love this tea! It is not only smooth and flavorful, but it gives one a lot of vim and vigor, making it very appropriate for those that like an Earl Grey in the morning! whispers I think I like this the best of all the Earl Greys I’ve tried!!

!!!!

Gotta run – terribly busy – I will try to provide more details the next time I drink this!

Thank you SimplyJenW for this tea!!

Mmmmmmmmm! Orangey! It’s like a very orangey instead of bergamotty Earl Grey, and it’s absolutely delightful. Very smooth tea base that lets the flavoring shine. And the flavoring! It’s so natural. I tastes exactly like the juices and oils that squirt out of an orange when you peel it.

When one has been through an earthquake (albeit minor) and hurricane (albeit minor) in one week, one needs a little something zesty, punchy and DIFFERENT to put everything back in its place, and this tea is absolutely perfect for this purpose. Bonus: this was a kind gift, which makes it 29834092840 times as wonderful, imo.

Thank you Jen! Another one I adore!

Fabulously fragrant while you wait for it to steep, and equally wonderful on the palate when sipped. Not to be missed, light and refreshing and totally uplifting.